Increased capacity and diversification supercharge trade in Burundi

KEY RESULTS

• Setting priorities strategically | Informed by the 2012 Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) supported by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the Government of Burundi developed their Vision 2025 Strategy (2018-2027) and its Strategy for Regional Integration (2013-2025). This DTIS was then updated by the EIF in 2022 alongside the development of the National Tourism Development Strategy.  
• Supporting women in the digital economy | The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with EIF funding and support through the Government, improved women's digital skills in Burundi by training over 1,660 women entrepreneurs, sensitized senior policymakers on women and digitalization issues, and updated policies to better reflect women's considerations.
• Improved standards | In partnership with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the EIF helped to boost capacity and improve the quality of exports through the development and harmonization of standards. 

Burundi is a landlocked East African country of some 13 million people, seated at the northeast corner of Lake Tanganyika, one of Africa’s Great Lakes. The country’s geography is dominated by mountains and plateaus, and it shares a border with Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Burundi’s location and moderate climate provide ideal conditions for growing tea and coffee, which account for 70% of its export revenue. Coffee is mainly grown in the central and northern regions, where volcanic soils and rainfall patterns promote excellent quality produce and high yields. The industry provides employment for as many as 800,000 small-scale growers.  

The Burundian Civil War was responsible for a challenging socio-political crisis that lasted from 1993 to 2005. Conflict and economic sanctions devastated the country’s institutions and adversely impacted its productivity. The EIF supported a comprehensive DTIS in 2012 (and its update in 2022), which highlighted the need to diversify exports and strengthen the country’s trade administration and financing activities. Findings of the study emphasized the importance of diversifying exports and developing sectors with potential for economic growth, eliminating non-tariff barriers, developing the trade in services sector, and expanding the tourism sector. The Government of Burundi has sought to use funding available through the EIF to address these recommendations, with more than USD 4.5 million in funding committed to addressing export supply challenges (especially in the agricultural sector), export diversification, improving trade facilitation, and fostering an improved investment environment.

Establishing the needed structures for progress through trade

With the EIF support of USD 1 million, the Government of Burundi, through its Ministry of Commerce, established national project implementation arrangements, including a National Steering Committee and a National Implementation Unit supported by a designated Focal Point and a Donor Facilitator. Additionally, a Partners Coordination Group was established to help with the implementation of trade-related programmes by the public and private sectors and donor partners. These arrangements were crucial for aligning and mainstreaming trade with national socio-economic strategies and plans. 

Informed by the DTIS, the Government of Burundi mainstreamed trade into its Vision 2025 Strategy, the National Economic Development Strategy 2018-2027 (la Stratégie Nationale De Développement Économique 2018-2027); and the Regional Integration Strategy 2013-2025 (la Stratégie d'Intégration Régionale 2013-2025). Trade was also incorporated into several strategies, such as the National Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Tourism and in other related sectors.

With national implementing structures now in place, the Government of Burundi has come to demonstrate strong ownership and efficiency in carrying out projects funded by multiple donor partners. A regional trade study to facilitate the integration of Burundi with regional economic organizations – such as the East African Community, the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, the Southern Africa Development Community and the African Continental Free Trade Area – was developed.

Bridging the digital divide

The EIF partnered with ITU and Equals Global Partnership (a partnership of more than 100 organizations working to close the gender digital divide) to explore how women in Burundi could use digital skills to expand their businesses and break out of the poverty cycle.

The project worked at two levels: 1) at the policy level, to raise awareness among policymakers of the benefits of digital skills to catalyse the development of gender-sensitive policies to support women-operated enterprises; and 2) at the community level, to impart digital skills to women in the agricultural sector. Gaitan says success in the sector resulted from government commitment and support.

This successful collaboration with the Ministry of ICT had a cumulative effect that created high demand for capacity-building in digital skills and gender awareness from other ministries. The project helped Burundi prepare a gender-responsive national strategy on electronic waste, which was developed and validated by local stakeholders. Senior policymakers were trained on the importance of technology and digital knowledge for working-age women, spurring the Government’s continued support in the development of gender-sensitive policies to support women to participate fully in the digital economy.

As many as 90 women – including tea and coffee grower representatives and women entrepreneurs – were trained on various digital topics, including mentoring and business networking. The project also led to the establishment of intergenerational networking communities of women that complement formal training and mentoring activities in-country, regionally and internationally.

Ruth Nibitanga, a young beneficiary of the project, provides a helpful example of the possible positive change and impact. By leveraging the project’s networks and knowledge, Ruth says she gained confidence and emerged as a tech leader and, subsequently, a digital mentor for girls in her community. Her active involvement in the project also led the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Burundi to select her for a mentorship programme for youth innovators.

A tracing survey that was conducted post-training noted that it had empowered young rural women like Shaka Landrada. Upon completing her introduction to e-commerce training, Shaka earned an EQUALS certificate in basic computing skills, internet access and navigation, online security, social media use and proficiency with an e-marketplace app. Expressing her gratitude, Shaka said she is thankful to have had access to these activities in Burundi. "Now I have more knowledge and motivation to start an online e-shop and e-store for my business," she said.

According to Gaitan, a notable but unexpected outcome of the project was its contribution to stemming the wave of early childhood marriages – which is endemic in rural Burundi. According to Girls Not Brides, a global partnership that collaborates to stop child marriages, 19% of girls in Burundi are married before the age of 18, and 3% are married before age 15.

Boosting tourism

In 2022, the EIF supported the development of a comprehensive National Tourism Development Strategy as part of government efforts to build the country’s trade capacity. Examples of target activities include water sports in Lake Tanganyika; eco-tourism in the country’s forests, which are rich in flora and fauna; exploring Burundi’s rich cultural heritage (including through drumming); and hiking in the mountains. 

Prior to the strategy, it was recognized that Burundi's massive tourism potential had been untapped due to a lack of infrastructure, policies and investment partners. In 2021, Leopold Bizindavyi, the EIF's Monitoring and Evaluation Officer in Burundi, highlighted this lack of investment in this sector. "There is a lack of vision to see tourism as a development engine for the future of the country," he said. While still relatively new, the National Tourism Development Strategy has already established a firm foundation to address some of these shortcomings, and efforts are underway to mobilize resources to implement its recommendations. 

Fruit, vegetables and mining offer possibilities for export diversification

The Government of Burundi asked the EIF to contribute to its economic transformation journey, which has seen the country look beyond tea and coffee as its largest export revenue earners. The country now also exports a variety of fruits, vegetables, essential oils, vegetable oils, specialty products such as organic coffee and infused tea, as well as ornamental plants. 

An EIF project implemented with expertise from UNIDO focused on unblocking trade-related barriers through the promotion of quality standards. Around 1,000 sanitary and phytosanitary standards were harmonized nationwide as a result. The project boosted capacity to export and protect consumers through stronger national systems, analysis, inspection and testing. It also made industries better aware of the role of quality in improving exports via the training of 50 representatives from the private sector. A broad-based project partnership that pulled together resources from different groups to achieve maximum impact involved, among others, the Standards and Quality Control Bureau; the Office for the Protection of Plants; the Institute of Agronomic Sciences of Burundi; the National Centre for Food Technology, and the Regulatory Authority for the Coffee Sector. 

The future of Burundi’s sustainable trade looks bright

EIF support to Burundi has enabled the integration of trade into national economic development and poverty reduction strategies, providing a strong indicator of ownership by the Government. Strategic collaborative partnerships with ITU and EQUALS Global Partnership, as well as UNIDO, have opened opportunities for the private sector, with a focus on young women entrepreneurs, to embrace ICTs and meet international standards as a means to grow their businesses beyond Burundi and so improve their livelihoods. The stage is now set, with recent trade and tourism analysis, for Burundi to deepen its partnerships and continue to diversify opportunities. Capacity development across various sectors and market linkages established locally and internationally are poised to continue to contribute to Burundi’s upward trajectory towards improved economic growth and sustainability.